What are the crimes committed on social media?
What are the crimes committed on social media?
Crimes committed on social media, under general headings, include: sexual harassment, defamation, threats, blackmail, disclosing private messages or photos, recording private photos or videos, recording conversations, recording conversations with a voice recorder, taking camera recordings, hacking/stealing social media accounts, creating fake accounts, fraud, installing spyware on phones, hacking/stealing mobile banking accounts, massage parlor fraud, prostitution fraud, and various other methods of fraud.
What is the penalty for the crime of defamation committed via social media?
The crime of defamation is regulated in Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code as follows: “A person who attributes a concrete act or fact to another person that could offend their honor, dignity, or prestige, or who attacks a person's honor, dignity, or prestige by cursing, shall be sentenced to imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years or a judicial fine. In order for defamation in the absence of the victim to be punishable, the act must be committed by communicating with at least three people. If the act is committed through an audio, written, or video message addressed to the victim, the perpetrator shall be sentenced to imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years or a judicial fine. If the crime of defamation is committed publicly, the penalty is increased by 1/6.” Accordingly, we can say that the penalty for the crime of defamation is imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years or a judicial fine at the discretion of the judge.
What path should we follow if we are subjected to defamation on social media?
First of all, I recommend that you seek support from an expert lawyer who has experience in criminal law, especially in informatics law, and who works in this field. It is important to convey the incident you experienced, along with all evidence, to the relevant Chief Public Prosecutor's Office with a complaint petition, accompanied by your lawyer. The prosecutor in charge of your file will meticulously conduct the investigation, take the statements of both you and the suspect, and if there is other evidence that needs to be collected, they will complete these deficiencies and prepare an indictment. After the indictment is written, your criminal case will be filed in the Criminal Court of First Instance, the prosecution phase will be conducted by a prosecutor and a judge, and ultimately, if it is proven that the suspect committed the crime, they will be sentenced.
Following the commission of the crime of defamation regulated in Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code and the finalization of the suspect's sentence, pursuant to Article 58 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, the person who suffered damage due to the violation of their personal rights may request a certain amount of money to be paid as non-pecuniary damages for the moral harm they have suffered.
What is harassment via social media? Is a person commenting “You are very beautiful” to us a compliment, or is it legally harassment?
The crime of sexual harassment is regulated in Article 105 of the Turkish Penal Code as follows: “A person who harasses another person for sexual purposes shall be sentenced to imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years or a judicial fine upon the victim's complaint.” Sending sexually explicit messages to a person or sending a photo of one's genitals for the purpose of exhibitionism is a crime. If the crime is committed by taking advantage of the convenience provided by internet tools or through exhibitionism, the penalty shall be increased by half. If we do not know the person who comments “You are very beautiful” to us, or if we know them but do not like them, this comment is considered sexual harassment.
Is taking screenshots of WhatsApp conversations or disclosing them a crime?
All conversations between two people are considered private and confidential. Conversations made between two people on the WhatsApp chat application are likewise considered private and confidential conversations. A person who takes a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation without the consent of the other party is deemed to have committed the crime of recording personal data regulated in Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code. The penalty for this crime is regulated in the article as: “A person who unlawfully records personal data shall be sentenced to imprisonment from 1 to 3 years. If the personal data relates to the sexual life of individuals, the penalty to be imposed in accordance with the first paragraph shall be increased by half.” A person who discloses these conversations without the consent of the other party is deemed to have committed the crime of violating the confidentiality of communications, which is regulated in Article 132 of the Turkish Penal Code. The penalty for this crime is regulated in the article as: “A person who violates the confidentiality of communications between individuals shall be sentenced to imprisonment from 1 to 3 years. A person who unlawfully discloses the contents of communications between individuals shall be sentenced to imprisonment from 2 to 5 years. A person who unlawfully and publicly discloses the content of communications made with them without the consent of the other party shall be sentenced to imprisonment from 1 to 3 years.”
What is the crime of defamation? Which words constitute the crime of defamation? Is it defamation to call someone who has been proven to be a thief “a thief”?
The crime of defamation is to attribute to a person a concrete act or fact that could offend their honor, dignity, or prestige, or to curse. In this regard, any behavior, word, or insult that could offend a person's honor, dignity, or prestige constitutes this crime. Even calling a person who has been proven to have committed the crime of theft “a thief” can be considered defamation depending on the nature of the event and the discretion of the judge.
Can a person with a restraining order contact the protected person through different social media accounts?
Within the scope of Law No. 6284 on the Protection of Family and Prevention of Violence Against Women, we obtain protection and restraining orders in favor of our clients. If a decision has been made within the scope of a protection and restraining order that “the person requesting the measure shall not be disturbed by any means of communication, verbal or written,” this decision also includes not communicating through social media accounts. A person who does not comply with this measure is sentenced to disciplinary imprisonment of not less than 3 days.
In this period when our use of the internet and social media has increased, I would like to remind you once again that we should be careful about the posts we make and our correspondence and conversations with the people we chat with over the internet.